"Socialist: a definition
1. Cunts.
Can't think of any more but I thought this was very apt and was quite enough anyway." - the always entertaining Shotgun
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
Videogame Review: Gunstar Super Heroes [GBA]
The North American boxart for Gunstar Super HeroesTitle Information
Japanese & North American Title: Gunstar Super Heroes
U.K. Title: Gunstar Future Heroes
Format: Game Boy Advance
Japanese & North American Publisher: SEGA
U.K. Publisher: THQ & SEGA
Developer: Treasure Video Games
Origin: Japan
Players: 1
Storage: 8-Megabyte Cartridge
Save: EPROM
e-Reader: No
Wireless Adaptor: No
Ask most videogames enthusiasts to compile a list of their favourite Genesis (Mega Drive) titles and you will soon find out that among the most prominent of those mentioned is a title from 1993 that was at the time unheralded outside of the industry press called Gunstar Heroes. Developed by a then-upstart code shop comprised of former Konami programmers called Treasure, Gunstar Heroes was one of the few Genesis-exclusive titles that made Super NES owners turn green with envy due to its visual special effects, which were thought to be impossible on the Genesis and its wonderfully intense game play. The title quickly developed a cult following among those who played it and those players regularly lobbied for a sequel, but apart from a Japanese-exclusive conversion coded by M2 for the Game Gear two years later, these calls went unheeded until the announcement of Gunstar Super Heroes for the GBA.
Although this title is the official sequel to Gunstar Heroes, Gunstar Super Heroes is also an unofficial remake of the original Genesis classic, giving it a reassuringly familiar feel to veterans of the previous instalment in the saga. The plot for this title picks up from the conclusion of the original, when the destruction of the devastating Golden Silver causes the creation of four new moons that were eventually colonised. The appearance of another moon, a military machine satellite developed and controlled the sinister Empire organisation. As either as a female tomboy called Red or a male known as Blue, players must stop the Empire and its plans to resurrect Golden Silver.
As should be expected of any remake and sequel, this title’s visuals surpass those of the original Genesis edition. The graphics in Gunstar Super Heroes are big, bold and certainly more colourful than those of the prequel because the Genesis can only display 65 colours simultaneously, which had an obvious impact on Gunstar Heroes. Treasure are experts at pushing the technical capabilities of the systems it develops for to the limit. Gunstar Super Heroes is no exception, especially since Treasure is already very familiar with the abilities of the GBA’s internal architecture from developing Advance Guardian Heroes and Astro Boy Omega Factor. One of the many reasons why Gunstar Heroes on the Genesis is so memorable to those who have played it or seen in action was because Treasure were able to produce visual features that were thought to be impossible on the format. Treasure was able to create massive and complex objects from the use of multiple, separate sprites in a manner that would foreshadow the way computer-generated three-dimensional objects are comprised of multiple polygons. These effects return in this sequel, improved upon to advantage of the GBA’s superior hardware.
The Memory Will Never Die
Despite being a showcase of the Genesis’ technical abilities, Gunstar Heroes would not have enjoyed a cult following unless these abilities were used to help create a quality game playing experience and this too has been largely recreated and enhanced by the sequel. Veterans of the original will feel familiar with the way Gunstar Super Heroes plays as all of the stages from the prequel have been remixed for this title. That is not to say that there are no new game play features contained in Gunstar Super Heroes. Among these additions are action areas that are tributes to old SEGA classics, pulled off with a style of panache that is the typical hallmark of Treasure. The finest of these action area tributes is Cobit Village, a homage to Flicky where the player has to rescue chicks scattered throughout the vicinity and lead them all to the EXIT.
The control system in Gunstar Super Heroes has been altered from Gunstar Heroes to make both Red and Blue more versatile and less distinctive characters to use during game play. The biggest and most contentious change made in this title from the Genesis original is that to the weaponry available for use. Unlike Gunstar Heroes, where players could combine different weapons to cause maximum carnage, each character in this title has only three types of firepower at their disposal. While some hardcore Gunstar Heroes veterans resent this change because it reduces their satisfaction from wiping out opponents with ridiculously overpowered and customised weapons of mass destruction in the most spectacular fashion possible, others will appreciate how this significant alteration improves the balance of difficulty in this title.
Treasure Hunt
The scope of Gunstar Super Heroes’ presentation has also been expanded upon from its predecessor. Instead of aiming to complete the title, as was the case with Gunstar Heroes, this instalment in the saga has a greater role for its narrative that gives the cast of characters more personality. This improved feature is further built upon by the title revealing more rewarding story revelations when progress is made by the player with each higher difficulty level. Gunstar Super Heroes also records the player’s quickest elapsed times for each stage that has been cleared and top scores, providing further incentives to replay this title repeatedly.
However, Gunstar Super Heroes is not perfect. Unlike Gunstar Heroes, this title does not have a multiplayer feature. Apparently, Treasure attempted to incorporate a four-player option only to discover that it would compromise the rest of the game play on offer due to the technical demands required of the GBA. Unlike both the Genesis and the rival Super NES formats, the GBA’s technical resources are needed to operate both the portable’s wide colour screen and speaker in addition to generating visual and audio effects. If Treasure claims that if some feature cannot be accomplished satisfactorily, then such is the good reputation of the developer that it can be taken at its word. Gunstar Super Heroes is also a rather short game playing experience, while some Gunstar Heroes veterans might find this title to similar to the original Genesis version to be considered as a true sequel. These trivial gripes though do nothing to detract from the quality of Gunstar Super Heroes. You do not have to have played the Genesis original to appreciate fully the virtues of this title.
Verdict
While some hardcore veteran players of the original Genesis incarnation of Gunstar Heroes might grumble about certain aspects of this sequel/remake, Gunstar Super Heroes is still the definitive run-and-gun action title on not just the GBA, but also on any portable videogame system to date. Truly, this is one classic title to Treasure!
93% GAMER GOLD!
Did You Know?: Some characters from both Gunstar Heroes and Gunstar Super Heroes also appear in Treasure’s popular Guardian Heroes series.
There Is No Political Centre Ground, Only The Illusion Of It!
"I'm a socialist!"James Carville, Bill Clinton’s campaign manager during the 1992 U.S. Presidential Election once commented that “Whenever I hear a campaign talk about a need to energise its [grassroots] base, that’s a campaign that is going down the toilet”. Carville is of course right as if any serious political organisation hopes to gain government office, it has to have a broad appeal that goes beyond its hardcore supporters to draw in floating voters. The most popular means among many mainstream politicians to achieve this goal is to attempt to reposition themselves and their political group onto what is believed to be the promised land of the political centre ground. The political centre ground is supposedly a moderate synthesis of right and left ideology that is the least offensive political philosophy to floating voters and even the majority of a party’s core supporters. Unfortunately, this ‘purple patch politics’ does not exist in the real world because it attempts to reconcile two contradictory stances; individual liberty and imposed control and conformity.
A woman cannot be half-pregnant, she is either pregnant or not at all! As such, when any attempts are made to create a synthesis between libertarianism and the hypocritical, mongrel and unprincipled ‘philosophy’ of socialism, these only create more forms of the destructive ideology of socialism. Previous attempts at a ‘middle way’ created fascism, while the Clinton clan’s so-called ‘radical centre’ inherited modest, but improving economic growth from George H. W. Bush in 1993 and left behind a looming, but mild recession for Bush’s son to deal with in 2001 (not to mention Bill Clinton’s own immoral abuse of his position for sexual gratification). Therefore, those who call themselves conservatives, yet pursue so-called ‘centrist’ policies such as the U.S. Senator John McCain and especially his Republican colleague, Californian Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger are in the cold world of reality, not conservatives at all; they are socialists!
Saturday, April 07, 2007
Happy Easter
I would like to wish all the readers of Conservative Mind a very happy Easter (unless you are an Iranian Islamofascist, a politically correct feminazi, Polly Toynbee, Terry Kelly, Bob Piper, George Galloway or a member of the National Socialist New Labour Party).
Thursday, April 05, 2007
Blair Caves In To Another Middle Eastern Rouge State
First Blair gave in to Islamofascist Iran, now he is doing the same with Iran's terrorists clients, Hamas in Palestine.
GAZA (Reuters) - Britain held on Thursday its first talks with a leader of the Islamist Hamas group, sending a diplomat to meet Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh to discuss efforts to free a BBC journalist abducted in Gaza.
A British diplomat said Jerusalem Consul-General Richard Makepeace, who came to Haniyeh's Gaza office, would "just discuss the kidnapping" and the talks were not a departure from the European Union's policy of shunning Hamas, which it considers a terrorist group.
BBC correspondent Alan Johnston was abducted from his car on March 12. He has been held captive longer than any of the several foreign journalists who have been seized, and subsequently released, by gunmen in the Gaza Strip.
There has been no claim of responsibility for the kidnapping nor public word on Johnston's fate despite pledges by the new Palestinian unity government to find him.
A senior Israeli official said the meeting undermined U.S. and Israeli efforts to isolate Hamas and could send the message to the Islamist group that it could gain ground diplomatically if foreigners were abducted.
"This undermines our policy and opens the door to further abductions," said the official, who declined to be identified.
Israel wants Western powers to maintain their boycott of the unity government that Hamas formed with the secular Fatah faction last month.
Hamas has not met demands by a Quartet of Middle East peace mediators -- the United States, the EU, the United Nations and Russia -- to recognise Israel, renounce violence and accept existing interim Israeli-Palestinian peace accords.
The United States, in a rare break with Israel, has said it would hold unofficial contacts with non-Hamas ministers. Britain and some other European countries have taken a similar line.
Western diplomats said there had been an understanding since Hamas came to power in March 2006 that their no-contact policies could be relaxed in extreme cases such as kidnappings.
In Gaza, guards at the President Mahmoud Abbas's compound fired in the air as about 60 local journalists held a protest march to demand authorities do more to bring about Johnston's release and assure the media can work safely in the territory.
No one was hurt, and the chief of the presidential guard later said he ordered the arrest of those who opened fire.
Addressing the journalists after his own meeting with Haniyeh, Abbas said: "We will not delay and we will not rest until this journalist friend is released to his family, and we will make certain such an incident is not repeated."
Blair loves terrorists, just ask Gerry Adams and the Sinn Féin Provisional IRA!
Are speed cameras working?
The success of speed cameras has been called into question as figures have shown an increase in speeding on 40mph roads.
Official figures released by the Department of Transport showed 28 per cent of car drivers exceeded 40mph limits, four per cent more than in 2005.
However, there are signs that speeding on 30mph roads is falling. In 2006, 49 per cent of car drivers broke the 30mph limit, compared with 65 per cent in 2001 and 72 per cent in 1996.
No figures have been released for 30mph roads in 2005, but the levels of speeding in 2006 suggest there has been a significant fall.
On motorways, 54 per cent of car drivers broke the national speed limit of 70 mph, with 17 per cent exceeding 80mph.
A quarter of motorcyclists also exceeded 80mph on motorways.
Wednesday, April 04, 2007
"Beria" defends 'talking' CCTV cameras
Home secretary John Reid has announced that the "talking" CCTV camera scheme is to be extended in the latest drive against anti-social behaviour.
The cameras are already being used in Middlesborough and are to be rolled out to 20 other areas, funded by £500,000 worth of grants.
Reid denied allegations that the scheme was an invasion of privacy - or "Big Brother gone mad" - insisting it helped prevent vandalism and stop people dropping litter.
It was a way to "embarrass" the people committing anti-social behaviour without getting the police involved or taking them to court, he argued, helping to "make sure it is a better local society".
The scheme involves council workers directing the cameras, which are complete with loudspeakers, to crack down on people committing anti-social behaviour.
"This is a hugely popular scheme in Middlesbrough and the vast majority of the people here are right behind it," Reid told GMTV.
"It helps counter things like litter through drunk or disorderly behaviour, gangs congregating. They are the sorts of things that make people's lives a misery. Anything that tackles that is better."
Government efforts to create greater police presence and more neighbourhood policing would always be criticised as moves towards a "police society", Reid claimed.
But he said it was actually "a society where the vast majority of law-abiding citizens are doing their utmost to respect each other".
Although the scheme would help save police time, the home secretary insisted it was "not a substitute for having police on the beat".
He highlighted that there were now 14,000 more police officers and 11,000 community support officers and wardens on the street since Labour came to power in 1997.
The effectiveness of CCTV cameras in cutting crime has been brought into question by a Home Office report last year, yet there are an estimated 4.2 million in Britain.
And information commissioner Richard Thomas recently warned that Britain was in danger of becoming a "surveillance society".
Monday, April 02, 2007
Grand Âyatollâh Piper of Sandwell
The Rowdy One has given his moral support to the Islamofascists in Iran in their quest to wipeout Israel. Perhaps Bobby is jealous of Terry Kelly's reputation as the most controversial Labour councillor in the blogosphere, or maybe Cllr Piper is just an old-fashioned left-wing racist? His previous track record on race relations suggests the latter.
He Did It!
The Undertaker defeated Batista last night at Wrestle Mania 23 to win the World Heavyweight Championship, extended his perfect career record at the event to 15-0 and end Batista's own Mania winning streak.
Friday, March 30, 2007
The Ultimate Warrior Speaks
This man is a genius. A true warrior for truth and justice in the world.
Gordon Brown Terrorises Ukrainians
I found this story in today's Western Mail newspaper:
"A company in Ukraine has found a new way of collecting debts from unpaid heating bills - using pictures of Stalin.
Posters of the Soviet dictator were put up around the city of Donetsk with the warning: "Comrades! This is not the cinema, this is real life. Anyone who does not pay their heating bill will be punished."
"It was the nearest we could get to intimidating people without sending around the heavy mob and it has worked," said an official from state-run Donetsk Heating."
No doubt this tactic will be exported to Britain as soon as Gordon Brown is safely installed as Prime Minister.
Thursday, March 29, 2007
The Next WWE World Heavyweight Champion
The Undertaker will go 15-0 at Wrestle Mania 23. Bank On It!
Some People Never Learn
Although I believe that Adolf Blair had Diana Princess of Wales murdered for political and egotistical reasons, the media certainly played their part in the causing the death of Prince William's mother. Now the media is hell-bent on sending William's 'special friend' Kate Middleton to an early death by hounding her at every possible moment. Yes, she is a public figure and as such does not have the luxury of a private life, but that is no excuse to stalk her for photographs and a huge financial sum from a newspaper, especially if it could put her life in an unreasonable danger. Also if Ms. Middleton did go the way Diana, Gordon Stalin would no doubt jump at the chance of using such a development to suppress the freedom of press in New Labour's continue quest to destroy our libertarian heritage.
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Donald The Dunce
One of Conservative Mind's favourite frisking targets, Labour spin doctor Don Paskini has written the following flawed statement on Herr Cllr Antonia Bance's blog:
Actually it is Master Paskini who does not understand the meaning of the word 'redistribution'. The word means theft, whether it be from rich to poor and poor to rich.
Zimbabwe arrests Tsvangirai ahead of summit
HARARE (Reuters) - Zimbabwe police stormed the main opposition party headquarters and arrested its leader Morgan Tsvangirai on Wednesday as African leaders gathered in Tanzania to debate Zimbabwe's escalating political crisis.
Tsvangirai, who opposition officials say was badly beaten after an earlier police crackdown this month, was among a number of Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) officials held when heavily armed riot police entered the party's Harare offices, the MDC said.
The arrests brought immediate condemnation from Britain, the former colonial power, and from the European Union.
The MDC said Tsvangirai had been due to hold a news conference "on the escalating and systemic campaign of violence and intimidation" by President Robert Mugabe's government.
The raid looked likely to increase pressure on African leaders to use a special Tanzania summit beginning on Wednesday to censure Mugabe, who has faced a firestorm of criticism for violently cracking down on opponents of his 27-year rule.
Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett was among the first to criticise the latest arrests, saying the government appeared determined to intimidate.
"I strongly urge Mugabe and the Zimbabwean regime to heed the calls made by so many of the international community and their African neighbours to stop the oppression of the Zimbabwean people and respect their human rights," she said in a statement.
European Union president Germany said it was "deeply concerned" at the arrests and demanded access to Tsvangirai and other detained opposition politicians.
The special two-day Tanzania summit will be a test for the 14-member Southern African Development Community (SADC), accused in some quarters of not flexing its muscle against Mugabe's government.
AN ISSUE FOR AFRICA
Despite the latest crackdown, political analysts said Mugabe's regional colleagues were unlikely to follow Western calls for a tougher line -- at least publicly.
"Whatever spin the government will try to put on this, this is an emergency summit on Zimbabwe and it basically means that Zimbabwe has become an issue in Africa too," said Eldred Masunungure, a political science professor at Harare's University of Zimbabwe.
"But I don't think there is going to be the kind of public condemnation that some Western countries are calling for, and I am sure Mugabe will be happy with that," he told Reuters.
Mugabe himself was attending a meeting of his ruling ZANU-PF party's politburo, which local media has speculated could discuss whether to back his bid for an extended presidential term despite the country's gathering problems.
Mugabe, 83, has suggesting moving presidential elections back to 2010 -- giving him two extra years in office -- or simply standing as the ZANU-PF candidate for another six year term if polls are held as scheduled next year.
He was due to leave for the Dar es Salaam meeting later on Wednesday.
Zimbabwe's political turmoil comes as the country faces its worst economic crisis in decades, a meltdown that is increasingly spilling over its borders and affecting the region.
Millions of Zimbabweans have already fled the world's highest inflation rate -- 1,700 percent -- plus a jobless rate above 80 percent and food shortages.
Mugabe blames the problems on Western sabotage, saying Zimbabwe is being punished for his policy of seizing white-owned land to give to landless blacks to address imbalances left by British colonialism.
Zimbabwe officials, who often accuse the MDC of being puppets of Western powers, have recently stepped up accusations of violence against the party's supporters, charging them with a string of bomb attacks on police stations, shops and trains.
"These criminal acts...have descended into orchestrated and organised acts of terrorism," police spokesman Wayne Bvudzijena said in a statement published in state media on Wednesday.
Things I Can't Stand
1. Drivers beeping their car horns at random people, then calling them "wankers".
2. Inconsiderate idiots who park their vehicles at bus stops.
3. Queuing.
4. Being kept waiting.
5. Being ignored when you want or need something.
2. Inconsiderate idiots who park their vehicles at bus stops.
3. Queuing.
4. Being kept waiting.
5. Being ignored when you want or need something.
Blogging On Borrowed Time
The council libraries in my locality are now using a new Internet filter on there severs which is blocking most of my favourites sites and blogs, including this one. So if new content does not on Conservative Mind from now on, you will now know why.
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Vince McMahon Loses The Plot Yet Again
"Believe it or not, Vince McMahon is under the impression that the fans in Detroit will turn on Undertaker at Wrestlemania and show their allegiance to Batista. This has got many people backstage confused, as they feel if anyone in the match will be turned on, it will be Batista."
There is absolutely no way that 99% of the fans will support Batista over the legendary Deadman. Bank On It!
Cllr Piper Consorted With Terrorists
It seems that Bob Piper has always been soft on terrorism! I can't say that I'm surprised by this considering Labour's track record of supporting criminality.
Quotes of the Day 27.3.2007: The Jesse Ventura Edition
"I ain't got time to bleed"
"When people attack me, I attack back."
"The Constitution guarantees our rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. That's all. It doesn't guarantee our right to charity."
"I believe patriotism comes from the heart. Patriotism is voluntary. It is a feeling of loyalty and allegiance that is the result of knowledge and belief. A patriot shows their patriotism through their actions, by their choice [such as voting, attending community meetings and speaking out when needed]. No law will make a citizen a patriot."
The Professional Wrestling Circus: A Breeding Ground for Conservatism
Jesse VenturaOn April Fools Day, the biggest event of the professional wrestling calendar, Wrestle Mania 23, takes place in Detroit. As such, this is the opportune time to look at an industry that is so political, it is considered more political than the world of party politics itself.
Professional wrestling is a dog-eat-dog world that is so cutthroat that there are no trade unions in the industry. The results and some elements of the matches maybe predetermined and choreographed, but the infighting behind the scenes between the wrestlers and the promoters and among the wrestlers themselves is more real than you can imagine. The off-screen feuding, backstabbing and power plays are far more vicious and bloodthirsty than both the on-screen battles and the most bitter grudges in party politics. The wrestling promoters are all corrupt without exception, while nepotism among both the promoters and wrestlers has been running rife since the existence of this dysfunctional circus.
However, despite these problems and others such as rampant drug abuse caused be frequent and relentless injuries, poor pay for 90% of wrestlers in the business and a short life expectancy, the public and Conservative party can learn a lot of positive virtues from this misunderstood industry. Even the laziest wrestler works harder than the average employee does by putting their bodies through such tremendous punishment, that if it occurred in most other working environments, it would cause a public scandal. The wrestlers are expected to be multifaceted performers that are as proficient at acting, public relations and even psychology as they are at what is in effect a form of manual labour. As such, many wrestlers develop into libertarians so fervent in their beliefs, that even Baroness Thatcher would be proud of them and see their trade as a character-building and self-reliant example to the rest of us.
Some of these wrestlers have even made or are in the process of making a successful transition from the wrestling world to the rather calmer environment of party politics. The classic example of this was the surprise 1998 gubernatorial victory of the infamous wrestling icon Jesse “The Body” Ventura in Minnesota. Governor Ventura enjoyed a popular term in office before he decided to stand down in 2003 to prepare the ground for a presidential campaign next year. No doubt, the political influence of retired professional wrestlers will gradually grow during the future within the United States and their conservatism could be as vital for the future of free-market capitalist society as actor Ronald Reagan was in winning the Cold War for the West.
Monday, March 26, 2007
Quote of the Day 26.3.2007
"Ian Paisley acting responsibly...like a rabid dog no doubt?" - axe-murderer John Hirst
Saturday, March 24, 2007
The Gormless One Is Still Breeding
Socialist clown Gormless George Galloway is to become a father for the second time this May. If the poor child is a boy, he will not doubt be called either Saddam, Uday, Che, Fidel, Iosef, Hugo or maybe even Terry. Will someone please call the Child Protection Agency?!?
Friday, March 23, 2007
Iran seizes 15 British Navy personnel
BASRA, Iraq (Reuters) - Iranian forces seized 15 British Royal Navy personnel who had searched a merchant ship on Friday, the Ministry of Defence said, triggering a diplomatic crisis at a time of heightened tensions over Tehran's nuclear ambitions.
The ministry said the incident took place in Iraqi waters, where it routinely boards merchant vessels with U.N. permission to search them. The Foreign Office summoned Iran's ambassador and demanded the immediate, safe release of the personnel.
The incident took place a day after Iran launched a week of naval war games along its coast, including the narrow northern reaches of the Gulf which control access to the vast oil reserves of Iraq, Iran and Kuwait.
The United Nations Security Council is expected to vote on Saturday on a resolution to impose new sanctions against Iran over its refusal to halt uranium enrichment.
Oil prices rose by about a percent to above $62 a barrel after the incident.
"...This morning 15 British naval personnel, engaged in routine boarding operations of merchant shipping in Iraqi territorial waters ... were seized by Iranian naval vessels," the Defence Ministry said in a statement.
"The boarding party had completed a successful inspection of a merchant ship when they and their two boats were surrounded and escorted by Iranian vessels into Iranian territorial waters," it said.
Iranian officials could not immediately be reached for comment. The embassy in London was closed for a holiday.
"Hopefully there has been a mistake that has been made and we will see early clarification and an early release of my people," Commodore Nick Lambert, commander of the British fleet in the area, said in a television interview aboard HMS Cornwall.
NO FIGHTING
"There was no fighting, no engagement of weapons, anything like that, it was entirely peaceful. We have been assured from the scant communication we have had with the Iranians at a tactical level that the 15 people are safely in their hands."
An Iraqi fisherman in Basra told Reuters he had seen the incident in the Shatt al-Arab waterway that marks the southern stretch of Iraq's border with Iran. There was no sign of any violence, said the fisherman, who asked not to be named.
He said Western military personnel on two small boats had boarded a ship the Siban area of the waterway, near the al-Faw peninsula that leads into the northern Gulf. At least two Iranian vessels appeared on the scene and detained them.
British Royal Navy personnel include both sailors and marines, who make up boarding parties for ship searches as part of a mission that also includes U.S. and Australian forces. Washington said no U.S. military personnel were involved.
The incident was similar to one in 2004 in which eight British servicemen spent three nights in the hands of Iranian Revolutionary Guards before being released unharmed.
In that incident, the Iranians accused them of crossing into Iranian waters, which Britain disputed.
Unlike the United States, Britain has diplomatic relations with Iran. But London backs Washington's strong calls for sanctions against Iran unless it abandons nuclear plans which the Western countries believe are aimed at producing weapons.
The two countries also accuse Iran of fomenting violence in Iraq. Iran insists its nuclear plans are peaceful and denies it supports militia in Iraq.
Quote of the Day 23.3.2007
"Any excuse to pry, pontificate and fine is grist to the mill of the enviroment fascists. We have the most intrusive state since Oliver Cromwell and it is time we gave it the boot" - Conservative MP Ann Widdecombe
Thursday, March 22, 2007
Quotes of the Day 22.3.2007
Here are a couple of crackers from.... yes, you've guessed it, the Gormless One, George Galloway on his MySpace page."Without blowing my own trumpet too loudly...."
Really?!? You are certainly full of surprises aren't you.... and what's this????
"I’m a passionate football fan, Manchester United – I actually scored a goal at Old Trafford!"
Can anyone credible actually confirm this claim, or is Gallas having another one of his Jeffery Archer moments again?
Forgive Freddie Flintoff
With all the hoo-ha about Andrew Flintoff's antics at the Cricket World Cup, one could be forgiven for thinking that he had murdered someone in cold blood or committed adultery rather than gone a foolish booze-bender. What Flintoff did was wrong and he has been punished (perhaps too harshly for my liking) by the England management, but it does not warrant some of the front-page newspaper coverage he has been getting recently as it was only a minor indiscretion in the wider scheme of things that make up our existence.
On the issue of forgiveness, I have been finally able to forgive some of those who have wronged me in the past, so if I could do that, then how about everyone else doing the same for Flintoff?
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
Bobby Lashley - The Next Bill Goldberg
A tribute music video to this real American hero and ECW World Champion to the song "Scared" by Three Days Grace.
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
"Outted" By Cllr Piper
According to good old Bobby Piper, the blogger Shotgun and I might be having a homosexual relationship with each other. That's news to me, as it would be for Mr. Shotgun! It seems that Prague Tory was right about the Sandwell councillor resorting wild accusations and undignified insults.
Quote of the Day 20.3.2007
"Instead of liquidating the Kulaks he liquidates our pension funds." - no longer anonymous about Gordon "Koba Stalin" Brown on Iain Dale's Diary
Right to ban school veils condemned
New Government guidelines spelling out the right of headteachers to ban pupils from wearing religious dress such as the Islamic veil are "simply shocking", a British Muslim leader said.
Education Secretary Alan Johnson has drawn up the updated guidance after a 12-year-old girl lost a legal battle to wear the full-face niqab in class in her Buckinghamshire school last month.
A spokesman for the Department for Education and Skills stressed that the Government was not imposing a blanket ban on veils at schools, and any decision on uniform policy was a matter for individual headteachers.
But Massoud Shadjareh, chairman of the Islamic Human Rights Commission, said he felt "dismayed" at the guidelines.
He said: "Successive ministers dealing with education issues have failed to give proper guidance when requested by human rights campaigners about schools' obligations regarding religious dress, including the head scarf, and other service delivery under human rights laws and norms.
To now proceed to issue guidance against Muslim communities is simply shocking."
The new guidelines issued on Tuesday will also warn schools they must not force parents to buy over-priced uniforms for their children.
The DFES spokesman said that headteachers have always been in a position to set their school's uniform policy, and this remains the case under the new guidelines.
The new document states that schools should consult widely with parents, governors and the local community on uniform policy relating to religious dress.
Where possible, they should try to tolerate a wide range of religious and cultural items of clothing. But they may ban certain garments, such as the full-face veil, if it is felt that they impede safety, security or the ability to learn.
The DFES is not ordering or advising headteachers to ban the veil, but is confirming that they have the ability to do so if they wish, so long as they carry out proper consultation, the spokesman said. Headteachers will be told they will face action from the Office of Fair Trading if they impose unfair uniform policies on families.
There is an Islamic Human Rights Commission? That has got to be a joke! If this Commission really values human rights, then why does it not speak out the harassment and persecution against Christians, Hindus and Jews in the Islamic world by the mad mullahs and insane imams sponsored by governments such as the royal family of Saudi Arabia? When this Commission speaks out in the defence of non-Muslims' human rights, then I will pay more attention to the Commission complaints about the human rights of Muslims being violated.
UK inflation rate rises to 4.6%
Inflation in the UK accelerated in February, raising the possibility of further interest rate rises.
On the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) measure, inflation in February was 2.8%, up from 2.7% the month before.
The figure - pushed up by increases in air passenger duty and thus air fares - remains well above the Bank of England's 2.0% target for the CPI.
There was a bigger rise in the Retail Prices Index (RPI), which rose to 4.6% from January's figure of 4.2%.
"Today's figures are a timely reminder that the Bank of England's tightening work is probably not yet finished," said Rob Carnell, economist at ING.
Cheaper computer games
The Office for National Statistics, which compiles the figures, says the rising transport costs were partially offset by falling petrol prices.
Other downward effects included falling prices for computer games, which were rising in February 2006.
The main upward effect on the RPI was the housing costs that are excluded from the CPI.
The RPI includes mortgage interest payments, and is used in many wage negotiations.
February's figure is the highest RPI since August 1991, although there has been little sign of inflation in pay deals so far.
If the CPI goes above 3%, Bank of England governor Mervyn King has to write a letter to the government explaining why it has happened.
What A Bad Loser!
Eurovision loser Justin Hawkins says Saturday's contest was a "stitch-up" and has branded the British public "either racist or stupid" for choosing Scooch.
The former frontman for glam rock band The Darkness partnered black singer Beverlei Brown on his entry They Don't Make 'Em Like They Used To.
Viewers of BBC One's Making Your Mind Up show saw him storm off stage when the pair were voted off.
Hip-hop act Big Brovaz also lost out to Scooch.
On his MySpace blog, Hawkins raged: "The United Kingdom must be either racist or stupid not to have voted for Big Brovaz or Beverlei Brown (she looked and sounded fantastic).
"It's like when multi-award winning, multi-million selling Lemar lost to David '3 stars at Burger King' Sneddon in Fame Academy all those years ago.
"Nothing ever changes.
"The whole thing whiffed of a stitch-up, particularly when you consider that our supporters had their banners confiscated by security, whilst Scooch fans were filmed proudly waving theirs.
"When Big Brovas were eliminated, my heart sank and I thought, 'the dream is over'. I was right."
While I will defend Mr. Hawkins' right to express an opinion and share his doubts about the tastes of a number of people, branding the British public as racist on the basis of the results of a television talent show is itself ridiculous and stupid. Mr. Hawkins' whining strikes me as a case of sour grapes!
Brown branded "Stalinist" as polls slip
LONDON (Reuters) - Chancellor Gordon Brown suffered a double blow on Tuesday with a damaging opinion poll and a scathing attack by a former colleague who accused him of "Stalinist ruthlessness" and cynicism.
On the eve of Brown's 11th budget, a poll showed that if, as expected, Brown replaces Tony Blair as prime minister, Conservatives would beat him convincingly.
The ICM poll for the Guardian showed that if Brown led Labour into an election battle against the Conservatives' David Cameron and Menzies Campbell of the Liberal Democrats, 43 percent would back the Conservatives against 28 percent for Labour -- a 15-point gap.
Brown also faced accusations that his behaviour during 10 years at the Treasury has been "Stalinist" and he has treated cabinet colleagues with "more or less complete contempt".
In an interview with the Financial Times, Brown's former top civil servant, Lord Turnbull, described how the man widely expected to be the next prime minister had a "very cynical view of mankind and his colleagues".
"He cannot allow them any serious discussion about priorities. His view is that it is just not worth it and 'they will get what I decide'. And that is a very insulting process," Turnbull told the paper.
Turnbull worked for Brown at the Treasury for four years before becoming the head of the civil service as Cabinet Secretary from 2002 to 2005.
"Do those ends justify the means?" Turnbull added. "It has enhanced Treasury control, but at the expense of any government cohesion and any assessment of strategy. You can choose whether you are impressed or depressed by that, but you cannot help admire the sheer Stalinist ruthlessness of it all."
The ICM poll showed that if an election was called tomorrow, 41 percent of people surveyed said they would vote for the Conservatives, up 1 percentage point from last month.
Labour was unchanged at 31 percent, while the Liberal Democrats slipped 1 percentage point to 18 percent.
Blair, who has led Labour to three general election wins, is expected to step down in June or July after a decade in power.
ICM interviewed 1,011 adults between March 16 and 18.
I am not at surprised, since Tony Blair models himself off of Adolf Hitler and Stalinism was the Soviet incarnation of fascism.
Monday, March 19, 2007
Quote of the Day 19.3.2007
"To my mind, I do not see Controlling Conservatives as an improvement on NuLabour failure." - the blogger Cicero on the dangers of David Cameron repositioning the Conservatives towards the Left
Friday, March 16, 2007
Cllr Piper Libels Melanie Phillips & Insults Jews & Muslims
Everyone's favourite socialist dinosaur Sandwell councillor Rowdy Bobby Piper has been at it again on his blog with libellous comments about newspaper commentator Melanie Philips, while simultaneously insulting both the Jewish and Islamic communities with his discriminatory bile.
"Hat tip to the excellent new Blockhead Magazine for this link.... Israeli Ambassador to El Salvador discovered drunk and naked apart from his bondage gear. No doubt Melanie Phillips will blame the Muslims."
I guess Piper thought that he was being funny, but instead, all he managed to achieve was to bring his own position into further disrepute.
Quote of the Day 16.3.2007
"The Dark Heretic is someone who does not conform to an established attitude, doctrine, or principle. He is a free thinker, some would say a radical and is definitely outspoken." - Dark Heretic
Thursday, March 15, 2007
Quotes of the Day 15.3.2007
"Eco-fascism, like all shades of socialist ideology, is the politics of power through the imposition of universal misery" - C4'
"He shared completely her hatred of socialism and I grew up listening to him bellow. 'But he's a socialist!' as if describing some common criminal" - Carol Thatcher on her father
"It is an absolutely barbaric way of taking people's lives; it really is absolutely awful. Secondly, of course, there is always the possibility of making a mistake and I think, too, from a conscience point of view juries who are terrified of making a mistake will tend to find someone accused of murder "Not Guilty"." - Sir Denis Thatcher on capital punishment
"The unions were ruining our country - always on strike, which was a failure of nationalized industries - a monopoly they had. The dockers, of course, were a bloody menace. You shipped your goods down to London and the dockers wouldn't touch them. They were capable of holding the country to ransom and did.
The restrictive practices on ships was awful. When Atlas was doing ship repairing and de-greasing heat exchange equipment, unless our chaps were all members of the union they wouldn't even take your kit aboard. Our chaps had to learn to work alongside them and there were certain things they wouldn't let us do at all. You might have to connect your vaporizer up a flange and you couldn't touch it until one of their chaps turned up and did it. It only took three minutes.
One of them went to lunch and I remember our fellow connected the flange. When the union member came back he said, 'Who connected that?'
'I did' said our chap. 'I can't hang around all day waiting for you.'
So the dockers all downed tools and walked off the bloody ship. They wouldn't come backuntil the flange was disconnected. That's the sort of thing we were up against." - Sir Denis Thatcher on the trade unions
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
Quote of the Day 14.3.2007
"After all as I've pointed out before, he still stayed with his mammy at the age of 33 and only ever had men friends, 12 of them, he said he loved the one called John, as in loved like a brother I suppose, not unlike Tam o Shanter and Souter Johnnie, at least I think that's what he meant, didn't he ?" - the self-proclaimed Roman Catholic Terry "The Homophobe" Kelly on his Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Quotes of the Day 13.3.2007
"IF Home Secretary John Reid's new 'send-a-text' scheme is intended to rid the country of unwelcome freeloaders who have overstayed their welcome, then he ought to send one to 10 Downing Street." - Peter Charles from Sheffield in yesterday's Daily Express newspaper
"Do you have BA(Hons) on your chequebook as well?" - holy fool about yours truly
"It is not racist to tell the truth!" - C4'
North Korea nuke talks heat up
The UN nuclear watchdog head has arrived in North Korea and said he is hopeful progress can be made on closing its atomic facilities.
Inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency have not visited North Korea since the hermit state expelled them in late 2002 as a disarmament deal fell apart.
The impoverished nation agreed to admit the watchdog as part of a new accord reached in February this year.
The IAEA will play a key role in verifying whether it meets a commitment to shut down the Yongbyon reactor at the heart of its nuclear programme.
"I hope we should be able to make some progress," IAEA head Mohamed ElBaradei told reporters before leaving Beijing.
He hoped his agency could "work closer with the DPRK after many years of estrangement", referring to the North by its official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
Under the February deal, cut at six-party talks in Beijing that group the two Koreas, the US, China, Japan and Russia, North Korea agreed to shut Yongbyon by mid-April in return for an infusion of energy aid and security assurances.
"This is an important part of the six-party talks' implementing of the initial steps," Mr ElBaradei said of his trip.
"I think obviously these initial steps will be important, significant in fact, in moving the six-party talks forward."
One US official expressed confidence that North Korea would make good on its pledge to shut down Yongbyon.
"It can be done in a short period of time (and) we're reasonably confident they will take that step," the official said.
But others said it was still too soon to make predictions.
"My understanding is that some of what we have seen in recent weeks is maintenance and the like, but we'll have a better idea after ElBaradei visits this week," a second US official said.
Monday, March 12, 2007
Plaid Cymru & Nazi Germany
I have just sent the following letter to the Western Mail newspaper about Plaid Cymru:
SIR - While I applaud Mr. Syd Morgan's letter of Monday, 12 March 2007 about Labour sectarianism, his political party are no better, living as it does in a glasshouse.
One shouldn't forget that Plaid Cymru sent an official delegation to meet Adolf Hitler in Germany during the summer of 1940 to secure his support for a Vichy-style Welsh state in exchange for supporting a Nazi invasion of the rest of Britain. Whatever one's views about Welsh nationalism, Plaid's actions at a time when Britain was fighting for survival was an act of treachery against the Welsh people. Had Hitler given Plaid his blessing for their proposal, Plaid would have certainly deported Welsh Jews to foreign death camps.
Labour may be the most sectarian party in Wales today, but considering their actions during 1940 and their continuing antagonism towards the English, surely Plaid are the most racist party in Wales.
Yours sincerely
C4' BA (Hons.)
The Yellow Peril
The cat is now out of the bag! At the Liberal Democrats’ spring conference, Sir Menzies Campbell expressed his preference for the formation of Lab-Lib coalition after the next general election to keep David Cameron’s Conservatives in the wilderness of opposition. Ming, like the rest of the Left is terrified by the results of the most recent opinion polls that show that the Conservatives would enjoy a working majority in the House of Commons after the next general election. If the actual election results mirrored these polls, then it would scupper the Liberal Democrats’ long-cherished hopes of holding the balance of power in parliament and entering into a coalition government so that they can implement their core policy of deciding the composition of the Commons based on proportional representation, the scourge of European politics.
In most countries that use proportional representation and have more than two major political parties, this electoral system has produced a limitless supply of weak and ineffective governments where the smaller parties are granted the de facto right to blackmail the parties that have won the popular vote if the latter wish to enjoy a parliamentary majority and government office. The introduction of proportional representation at Westminster would have one of two adverse effects on political accountability and how political power is exercised.
The first of these consequences would be to concentrate greater perpetual political power into the hands of unelected and increasing unaccountable civil servants while the politicians squabble their way into a stalemate over their conflicting, contradictory aims and methodology. The second and more likely scenario would be the institution of an all-but-permanent and hegemonic anti-Tory Left-wing Lab-Lib coalition. Such a circumstance would mirror that of Swedish politics where the Social Democrats have governed Sweden virtually non-stop since the end of the Second World War. All proportional representation would do is to all-but-permanently entrench the Liberal Democrats on the government benches as the parliamentary kingmakers. As such therefore, proportional representation is as a big a threat to the fabric of our society as terrorism and closer European integration. So much for democracy!
Friday, March 09, 2007
Cllr Terry Kelly - Property Tycoon
Kelly: Welcome to my latest dacha comrades!Porky Pig puts his foot in it again with this remark to the blogger Shotgun, who attempted to pay a visit on the man himself at home:
So much for being a socialist then!
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